Every so often, investigators have to take a mental health assessment to see if they are still fit to carry out their duties.
As for how they cope with psychological trauma, some choose to see a therapist, while others relieve stress through personal hobbies or something similar, like Sarah was doing now.
She was a person so serious that she was almost old-fashioned, rarely revealing any personal aspects of herself at work. Yet, with the case still unsolved, Sarah invited him to play basketball, which was a clear sign that she needed someone to share with and to relax.
That's why Arthur agreed without a moment's hesitation.
When he arrived, Sarah had just made a shot.
The basketball court was a bit deserted, with only a few people playing on the other side. Occasionally, someone would turn to look at Sarah. And when Arthur arrived, those kinds of glances disappeared.
"I didn't think you'd get here so fast."
"Don't waste time."
Arthur said coolly, accepting the ball Sarah passed to him.
The two didn't say anything else and began a simple offense-and-defense game.
In the beginning, Arthur could keep up with and even briefly surpass Sarah, but his physical limitations quickly became apparent. His legs, especially his weight-bearing heels, grew sluggish, and his entire lower body gradually stiffened like a block of wood. This meant that as the game went on, it took Sarah less and less effort to defeat him.
"Don't your legs ever get tired?"
He grumpily spat out a question and sat down on the court, while Sarah moved as smoothly and fluidly as she had at the beginning.
"You're just too weak."
"Whatever, I won't argue with you."
Arthur snorted, but his eyes secretly observed Sarah's expression. Compared to before, the muscles in her face had visibly relaxed. Her rigid shoulders had also drooped, and her natural defense mechanism against unwanted influences was temporarily turned off.
Despite being drenched in sweat, Sarah looked more refreshed than she had before.
She had relaxed.
It seemed his workout wasn't in vain.
…
The next day.
The funeral took place in the very church where the priest had been murdered, and many local residents attended. The service was conducted by a priest invited from another town.
In the somber and tragic atmosphere, Arthur and Sarah stood quietly in a corner, watching as one person after another went up to see the old priest's face one last time before he was laid to rest.
"Arthur, is this really okay?"
Sarah pursed her lips, then raised her hand to cover her mouth and whispered to Arthur beside her. The answer she received was a nod.
"Yes, at this very moment, people's emotions are more volatile than usual. It will be easier for us to get information than it would be normally."
"Besides, we're not here to pry into their emotional wounds. We're here to try and solve this case as quickly as possible and get justice for the deceased."
Arthur gave his reason.
He had a feeling that today would be the day the investigation made a breakthrough.
They waited until the end of the burial service before Arthur and Sarah approached some of the mourners to ask questions. However, just as they were about to approach the individuals who were their potential suspects, the first person to approach them was Brenda herself.
"Officers, have you caught the killer yet?"
Arthur was a little surprised. Not many people dared to approach the police, and even fewer dared to ask a question first.
People almost always hold onto private secrets that only they know. This leads to them subconsciously becoming tense and defensive when facing members of the law enforcement, who represent the government's legal authority—or, in other words, the "embodiments of truth." This happens even when, rationally speaking, their small secrets wouldn't be noticed or land them in jail.
So, no matter how friendly and approachable Arthur and Sarah appeared, their status still made the residents instinctively wary of them. Furthermore, during their questioning that day, Sarah hadn't seemed very approachable at all.
Yet this time, Brenda had actively approached them. Although she was primarily directed towards Arthur.
Although Brenda addressed them as "officers," she leaned her body more towards Arthur and looked at Sarah much less frequently.
"We are still conducting our investigation. I apologize, but this process cannot be disclosed."
Arthur understood her intention and replied politely. He observed that after he said that, Brenda pursed her lips, her gaze shifted from his face to the ground, and her hand clenched and then relaxed.
These things showed that Brenda was hesitant and deliberating.
Seeing this, Arthur continued to speak.
"If you have any useful information, please share it with us. Rest assured, if the information you're about to share relates to a specific person in the community, we will maintain confidentiality."
For the first sentence, Arthur intentionally spoke very clearly and distinctly, but for the second one, he lowered his voice, spoke more quietly, and used more of a whisper. This was how people talked when they wanted to invite someone to share difficult things.
Speaking softly narrowed the range of information dissemination, making the person sharing feel safer. The airy sound from the throat made the conversation feel less weighty and less official in their subconscious, just like how when a group of people chat and joke, no one speaks with perfect clarity. That formal way of speaking is more suitable for serious situations.
But it's precisely in these "lightweight" conversations that many people reveal their true thoughts, because their minds and linguistic control aren't focused on what they're saying. There is less control over words and less concealment of information. That's why people say, "words are carried away by the wind."
However, in this case, Arthur was giving Brenda a chance to use this "weightless" conversation not because the content wasn't important. On the contrary, it was so important to Brenda that she might just want to wash her hands of it after saying it.